- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Aug 28, 2014Each track, often on the theme of soured love, has a simplicity and a directness that is characteristic of the best pop.
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Aug 28, 2014Mean Love, Sinkane's third full-length and second release on DFA Records, manages to create a sense of romanticism without ever being overtly emotional, with straightforward lyrics that somehow remain affecting.
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Sep 3, 2014Mean Love is all about precision, be it in the form of a buttery vocal hook, an elastic bass line courtesy of Ish Montgomery, or a poignant lyric co-written with Greg Lofaro. In other words, it feels like this journeyman has finally arrived.
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UncutSep 10, 2014A more contemplative, intimate offering that in its own heavy and soulful way is just as thrilling. [Oct 2014, p.79]
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Sep 5, 2014While Mean Love is his most experimental album to date, it’s also his most precise.
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Sep 2, 2014Along with his collaborators (including David Byrne and Damon Albarn), he has neatly stitched a tapestry of musical cultures into a cohesive, convincing whole.
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Aug 29, 2014Where some tracks edge towards lounge territory, on the most part, this is a an album that surely won’t sink.
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Sep 4, 2014It seems almost unfair, though, to criticize Gallab for the minor crime of engaging with a sound that’s not as inherently interesting as what he’s proven capable of elsewhere, as Mean Love cements his reputation as a capable musical wanderer willing to engage with a variety of sounds.
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Sep 30, 2014Gallab doesn't stick genres into songs so much as he inhabits each one, however briefly.
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MagnetSep 18, 2014With shimmering synths and deep, delicious grooves, Sinkane delivers a future-funk feast of global proportions. [No. 113, p.59]
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Sep 3, 2014A true obsession with sound comes through on Mean Love, and regardless of the mode Gallab finds himself in at any given moment, stellar production and heartfelt songwriting keep the album engaging and beautiful at every turn.
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Aug 28, 2014The unwillingness to risk emotional connection seen on Mars meant it often slipped into the background, but the shift to more straightforward songcraft and the continuing successful genre fusion means Mean Love both demands and rewards attention.